Tyrone Issac-Stuart regularly performs with Boy Blue Entertainment and Foreign Bodies Orchestra (Sean Graham) and has worked with artists such as Jonzi D, Soweto Kinch, Joseph Toonga and Botis Seva. He has taught and performed in places as diverse as the USA, the UK, Switzerland, Kenya, France, Soweto and Brussels. He is a multi-talented artist blending together his saxophone skills and band, spoken word and dance skills favouring krump and experimental.
With all this jam packed talent it’s difficult to wade through it all. We are greeted by a journalist who stumbles on stage and breaks the fourth wall talking directly to us about his friends, while handing out these old fashioned envelopes. It’s exciting to be handed something even if it’s promotion for his next show! The first section is a duet with a female krumper, they blend between the forms of contemporary and experimental dance using each other’s bodies as lovers, living together, watching their favourite film Inception and bickering.
We hear quotes of the film Inception and this is used to mirror what’s happening off stage and to lose our sense of what we know dance theatre to be. It makes us question the reality of the scenes and if the characters are real or dreaming, or are we dreaming?
The following scenes are more abstract, playing with rabbit masks and a dream-like state; again playing with the audience’s senses and making us question whether this is happening in his mind or if he has fallen down a rabbit hole. Some of the scenes can seem disjointed but this is probably the concept of how dreams flow as the next section seems more realistic and he jams with his band playing with great flow and passion.
We see the dancers rehearse and collaborate all together, almost as if this is a rehearsal and the audience is not supposed to see this bit.
There is a lot happening through this piece; spoken word, storytelling, dance sequences and band jam sessions. It is adventurous to have so many forms of entertainment on stage without cluttering the space.
This was more than Hip-Hop dance, this show was experimental theatre, interacting with the audience on a closer level and bringing them into his dream like world. The Pit is a safe space for Tyrone to experiment with all his skills, it does feel disjointed at times and a linear structure could be beneficial for his piece. It is a great showcase of his talent and I’m sure we will see much more of his work to come. BoyBlue and Barbican have created a great partnership for work like this to be showcased to a diverse audience. I look forward to seeing more opportunities for young creators to play and create.
Review written by Jessica Andrade.
Tyrone Isaac-Stuart performed at the Barbican from Sunday 15th until Sunday 29th January. To find out more about Tyrone, visit here…
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